Laois County Council has said it is unable to reverse its decision on Electric Picnic.

It comes after the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said he would have no major concern with large outdoor concerts going ahead if they were limited to vaccinated people.

That led promoter MCD to call on the authority to reconsider its refusal to grant the festival permission to go ahead next month.

Earlier this month Laois County Council (LCC) said it was not granting the licence based on the "most up-to-date advice" from health officials.

In a statement this afternoon, it said there was “no provision in law” enabling it to revisit or reconsider its position.

It noted that despite Dr Holohan’s comments, “nothing has changed as regards advice from the HSE, nor has there been any change to the Government Public Health Measures in place in respect of hosting of outdoor events.”

It also claimed that if a new application was made, there is not enough time to process it to allow the festival to go ahead on September 24th to 26th.

Earlier today, UCC Immunovirology Professor Liam Fanning said events like Electric Picnic could be held safely now that the vast majority of the population was vaccinated.

He told Newstalk Breakfast he would like to see a “dividend for the population” given the high vaccine uptake in Ireland.